The Retiree’s Guide to Moving Abroad

Making the move abroad is an enormous step – not least if you’ve spent the majority of your life in one place. The daunting prospect of relocating to somewhere completely alien to you may be pretty unsettling in the early stages, but the good news is that by making all the necessary preparations and getting into the right state of mind, this can be one of the most exciting and positive transitions of your life.

Here are some quick and easy ways to guarantee your international move is a seamless and satisfying one.

The Family

Just because you don’t have young children to prepare for the moving process doesn’t mean there aren’t still many familial considerations to be made. Whether it’s grown-up children, extended family or even a pet, anyone involved in the big international move — and anyone left behind — will be affected by the transition, so it’s important to ensure that your family accepts and understands the reason behind the move and how things will change as a result of your expatriation.

Prepare everyone you expect to be emotionally affected by the move by involving them at the earliest possible stage

Highlight the benefits of the move

Make time to say goodbye

Pet owners:

Keep smaller pets in a quiet space prior to the move to minimise distress

Avoid any loud or sudden noises that might startle pets during the moving process

The Practicalities

The least rewarding part of the moving process is undeniably the packing practicalities of moving your life overseas. The key to making this vital stage of your expatriation as straightforward as possible is to break tasks down into manageable portions. This should clear your mind and allow you to take the moving process one step at a time.

A passion for organisation will serve you well here – but even if this isn’t your speciality, you can fake it by getting right down to the fundamentals.

Label boxes meticulously to make sure everything you want to accompany you abroad is accounted for

During the early stages, pack things you don’t need or use very often pre-emptively

Pack absolute essentials into the very last box so that they’re out of use for the minimum amount of time

The Afterglow

The most important thing to remember when moving internationally is that you’ve earned all of the rewards that this exciting new stage of your life brings — and you deserve to revel in the expatriation afterglow. Allow the necessary time for settling in, both physically and mentally, then reward yourself by really taking the time to absorb your lovely new surroundings.

If you’re on the verge of an international move and need some help compartmentalising — or you just want some pointers on the ins and outs of taking your life abroad – check out the full guide to making the big move, courtesy of moving experts Removal Services Scotland.

Graham Byers is manager of Removal Services Scotland, specialising in taking the hassle out of your home, office, business and international removals.